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Printer-Friendly ModeHonor code not needed
submitted by Nickalus Phillips
April 3, 2006 —
Am I the only one that finds the idea of an honor code a little ridiculous? Sure, students cheat. It is a fact of student "culture," though I am hesitant to use that term to describe what we have on campus. Nevertheless, students do cheat. Yes, it is a horrible thing. I personally never have cheated, but I have known students that have engaged in this erroneous activity. Do I agree with it? No. Do I accept it? Yes. Why, you ask? It's really quite simple: I would rather have students in school learning just a little and cheating than people out on the streets with no chance at an education.
Having said that, do I think students caught cheating should be punished? Yes, and to the fullest extent possible. Should they be given a second chance. Yes, under heavily monitored situations. You may ask why I would accept this type of heavy punishment and monitoring after being caught. Again, simple: It might be a little naive of me, but I believe that people should have the chance to prove themselves without being told that they have to prove something. When a student, or anyone for that matter, proves that they can do something for themselves the honest way, it shows them their unlimited potential. If you tell them they have to abide by something that should be blatantly obvious by the time the college years, it could have a limiting effect on the student, or whoever.
Yes, I realize that this is an extreme situation, but people really only understand extremes. In cases like this, soft understandings cannot be afforded. Let's show the people that doubt us we can be more than they realize.
Nickalus Phillips Student